Exploring Santorini

On Thursday we hired an ATV and set off to explore the island. Reuben did a great job of driving our ATV, which we nicknamed Slow Monk. Slow Monk struggled with hills…a lot…at one point we went up a big hill at the massive speed of 12km per hour!

Slow Monk

First was Red Beach, where the volcanic red rocks looked like they were going to fall on us at any minute (you could actually see small pebbles falling down!) but were actually relatively stable. We had some fresh cooked corn and enjoyed a swim at the beach.

Looking down on Red Beach

Stunning scenery

Just a few little rocks falling!

Reubs walking on water

After that we drove to the Lighthouse at the end of the island, before heading to Santo Wines where we did a wine tasting with incredible views over the caldera. We tried six different types of wines along with some cheese and bread – delightful!

Wine tasting with a view

After our wine tasting we headed to the village of Oia where we watched the sunset and wandered along cobblestone streets before driving back to Perissa.

Church in Oia

Twilight in Oia

We spent our last day in Perissa swimming, relaxing and making travel plans for the rest of our trip before being dropped off at 9pm for our 3am ferry to Rhodes (we always seem to get the early morning journeys!)

I think tourism has developed quite a lot in the past 35 years! I sure don’t remember any ATVs for hire when your dad and I visited, or visits to wineries. I do remember the grocer at the beach where we stayed selling wine by weight — you brought your own container, and paid by the kilogram.